Granted, the Georgia Bulldogs have been playing at a very high level for the past three seasons and it just so happens that was Bo Nix’s tenure at Auburn.
Although Oregon hasn’t released an official depth chart, it’s assumed Nix will be the starting quarterback when the Ducks take the field against Georgia this Saturday in Atlanta.
Nix is 0-3 vs that unbelievable Bulldog defense.
But in those three seasons, Georgia went 12-2 in 2019, 8-2 in 2020 (pandemic season), and finally, 14-1 last season while winning the national championship with what many consider to be one of the greatest college defenses of all time.
Bo Nix is far from being the only quarterback in the last three seasons to lose to the Bulldogs.
Interceptions and sacks plagued Nix as the Bulldogs were able to jump on Auburn early and force the Tigers to pass more than they probably drew up in the game plan.
Nix faced UGA for the first time as a true freshman and saw his Tigers down 21-0 heading into the fourth quarter. He was able to lead them on two fourth-quarter drives to cut the deficit to 21-14 with just over seven minutes remaining but wasn’t able to get the Tigers any closer.
He went 30-of-50 for 245 yards and a touchdown.
Not a bad outing, but those were the best numbers Nix would get of his three games against the Bulldogs.
Georgia hosted Auburn in 2020 and dominated its way to a 27-6 win where Nix completed just 21-of-40 passes for 177 yards and an interception.
Then against the national championship team last season, ( and ironically against Dan Lanning ) Nix just didn’t have it as he went 21-of-38 for 217 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the 34-10 loss. Nix was also sacked four times.
In his three games against Georgia, Nix completed 72 passes of 128 attempts for 639 yards and only one touchdown and two interceptions.
So what is likely to change in 2022?
Nix is on a different team and most likely, has better talent around him in order to make more plays.
He’s a mobile quarterback and those four sacks should be a concern.
But the Ducks have an experienced offensive line to protect Nix and hopefully, for Oregon’s sake, they can keep Nix upright and allow him to use his legs when it’s needed.
Georgia lost a lot of talent off of that historically great defense, but the Bulldogs have plenty of five-star recruits to come in.
But one has to ponder how much time will it take for them to gel?
And since this is the first game of the season, the Ducks should be able to use that to their advantage.
Will the Ducks pull off the upset?
That remains to be seen, but if they don’t it would be surprising to think it’s because Nix didn’t have a good game.